This male Bay-breasted warbler, in fine breeding plumage, was migrating through our area last spring. Given the amount of red in his cap, I believe he is a mature bird. Their population is very dependant on the caterpillars of the spruce budworm and other insect infestations and their numbers rise and fall accordingly. They are a little easier to photograph than other warblers as they move about the branches and show themselves a bit more readily.
I had driven by this old gated lot many times before but hadn’t paid it much attention. We were returning from a neighbourhood street festival one day and walked by on our way home. I was struck by these wildflowers pushing through the gate and stopped to take a photograph. I wanted the attention of the viewer to focus on the centre of the photograph. To do this I used an adjustment layer in Photoshop to lower the brightness of the stone, and then again for the entire photo. Finally I painted back some brightness in the flower and lock to make them stand out from the background.
I love coming across these daisy like wildflowers. They aren’t that common and grow individually so having the chance to see and photograph them is always a pleasure. In the first shot I liked the way the salsify formed a natural arrangement with the grasses and plants around it. In the second image, the flower itself is the centre of attraction although the muted background added some interest.
I took these photos last summer when everything was lush and green and the turtles were basking in the sun. Right now they are hibernating at the bottom of the lake and won’t resurface until late spring. Smart turtles! Painted turtles are common here in Ontario and share the lake with snapping turtles and the occasional blanding’s turtle. Painted turtles can be rather shy and slip into the water as you pass them but not these two on that day.
The lake had just frozen over and this female mallard was taking her first tentative steps on its surface. She was pretty surefooted and didn’t slip once as I watched her. There are at least thirty mallard pairs that remain at the reserve all winter and we normally see them on the river side of the reserve where some of the water remains ice free. This is the the first of two sets of photographs I took of this mallard which I’ll be featuring in the next week or so.
February 2 was Groundhog Day in Canada and the U.S. and it was reported that the “official” Canadian groundhogs did not see their shadows (yes we have two). The story goes that when this happens we’re in for an early spring. If this holds true, I’ll be featuring ducks in open water before too long!
Two of my favourite subjects are insects and flowers and getting both in one shot was a bonus. I don’t usually like to take photographs at this angle, I prefer straight on shots. However, given the detail and colour in the fly I found the composition interesting. This was taken with my macro lens and flash, a wonderful combination for this kind of photography.
I borrowed the title from the song of the same name by The Foundations, a 60s British soul group (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iol0B-clFFM). Another cold grey day here and a sunny looking flower was just the thing to lift the spirits. Buttercups are common flowering plants and I love to see them carpeting the fields every spring. I applied a radial dial in Lightroom to lower the highlights on the flower caused by the strong sunlight. I thought it would lend itself to a black and white treatment as well.
Nuthatches are tiny aerial wizards and acrobats hanging onto trees at impossible angles. They obligingly remain all year, these first two shots were taken in early January. I like their distinctive nasal call, which is often heard before they make an appearance. Normally quite shy, nuthatches are more assertive during the winter hoping for some seed as I pass them along the trail.
Like a lot of people this time of year, I’ve had enough of winter. It’s cold and snowy and I miss the sun. Looking through my files I came upon this fritillary I took in June. It was a reminder of a time last summer when the whole day stretched before me and I could enjoy the outdoors with camera in hand.
There weren’t many birds around as we walked through the park and most of the fall leaves had faded and fallen. As I looked about I came across the first scene. I couldn’t have made a better arrangement myself than this naturally formed still life. The autumn light enhanced it all. The leaf in the second photo wasn’t easily given up by the tree. I liked the way the leaves in the background mirrored its colour.
I featured this eastern screech owl earlier in the month. In that series he was inside a tree cavity, on this day he was perched on a broken tree branch nearby. As this owl blends in so well with his surroundings, if I hadn’t been looking for him where I’d seen him before I would have missed him. All three photos had a tremendous colour cast caused by the leaves. In the first two, I used the Color Balance and Hue/Saturation in Photoshop to correct it. The colour cast was too pronounced in the third photo to fix, so I turned it into a black and white using Tonality Pro in Photoshop. As someone said, any day you spot an owl is a good day, this was an excellent day!
When I set up my gear that morning I was hoping to take some photographs of hooded mergansers I had seen the day before. They usually remain just out of range of my favoured lens, so I had my 300mm lens with me instead. There were no mergansers that day but I did come across these wood ducks along the lakefront. I couldn’t move back far enough to capture the entire bird so I took portrait shots instead. No two days in photography are the same. There are disappointments sometimes, but I know before too long something else will strike me and I’m off…
In the spring with their goslings and in the fall when the leaves change colour, these are my favourite times to photograph Canada Geese. The goose here appears to be doing the two-step, the vegetation serving as the backdrop. The reflections in the water and the soft fall light enhancing the scene.
Palm Warblers are known to stay low or on the ground but this bird went his own way and remained high up in the pines, darting in and out of the branches catching insects in mid flight. You have to be patient with warblers but the rewards are worth it. In the eastern part of the country we are treated to yellow palm warblers, the western variety are a duller colour. These warblers migrate through our region in the spring and fall. After spending the winter months due south (the birds not me), I look forward to their return again in May.
The reserve we go to is left to evolve with little interference from the agency that oversees the area’s green spaces. If a tree is brought down in a windstorm or by decay, unless it blocks the path, it’s left where it falls to break down and eventually feed the forest floor. Insects, vegetation, birds and mammals benefit from all stages of the trees’ existence.
Mushrooms were scarce this year given the dry summer we had but this old tree seemed to provide the perfect conditions for them as well as other vegetation. I liked the “hedge” the mushrooms formed to the hollow in the tree, perhaps it was the entrance to someone’s den.
The temperature has been up and down the last little while, it was -20C earlier in the week and +4C today but the skipper above is pure summer! They are pretty common in our area and a favourite of mine to photograph. I started doing more insect photography last year and look forward to a lot more when the warmer weather returns.
I took these photos last fall. Many birds had already migrated but this gull had not moved on yet. It was perched so nicely on this fallen tree and shifted positions several times before it flew off. It was doing a fine impression of two bookends. Ring-billed gulls are among the most common gulls in North America, are usually seen in groups and are known to be loud and opportunistic feeders. I thought that this solitary gull, standing quietly, taking in its surroundings an impressive sight. I was pleased to have seen it as I was walking by on that November afternoon.
Chickadees are the most acrobatic of birds and they’re fun to capture as they fly in and land nearby. They never stay still for long so I’m always pleased to get a decent close up shot. As the weather gets colder they do linger a little longer though hoping for some seed from passersby. They are also one of the few birds that can lower their body temperature to conserve energy on cold winter nights.
Cardinals are “all weather” birds that remain throughout the year and I have photographed them in every season. This was taken in October on a day when the light was nicely filtered and both the bird and the background colour mesh well together. The conditions were perfect with a very cooperative subject in no hurry to leave.
The first photo was taken in an Ottawa laneway, the second one in Toronto. I liked the shapes and play of light in the first shot. In the second photo the neighbourhood basketball court facing Toronto’s financial centre brought a sense of community to the big city. The colours caught my eye as well. I haven’t done much urban photography but I enjoy it and it’s something I’d like to do more of in the coming year.
For two years in a row we’ve seen a solitary eastern screech owl in the reserve. As they blend in so well, you have to search hard to find them. We came upon this owl last April, and we continued to see it for several weeks in the hollow of the tree or perched on a nearby branch. I look forward to seeing one again this spring.
Today was a cold cloudy day with more snow in the forecast. Not being a fan of winter, I thought the perfect antidote would be a colourful summer scene. I took this shot of a metallic bee with my 105mm lens and flash. Although pleased with the result, I stood a bit too far back so I had to crop more than I would have liked. (I am new to macro photography and still getting comfortable with insects.) When the warm weather returns there will be plenty of opportunities to try shots like this again from a closer perspective. It’ll be fun to compare the results.
Happy New Year All!
Although relatively common, I had never seen a northern shoveler before and couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted this solitary shoveler in late November. Their spatula-shaped bills give them a distinctive and comical appearance. We went back to the same area in the reserve for several days in a row and saw him each time. However, when we returned after a snowfall to check on him he had left. Like other Canadian “snowbirds” he was headed south no doubt.
The eastern phoebe in this photo landed in the perfect place to be photographed. The fall leaves add an additional bit of colour to the scene. This was taken in October. The bird could be looking back at the summer just ended. (I know I was.) Phoebes are a sure sign that spring is on its way as they are one of the first migrants to return to our area. I look forward to spotting my first one of the season.
There’s a large tree in the reserve which the local raccoons have claimed as their own. On hot summer days we’ve seen them stretched out on the limbs of the tree, waiting for the hint of a breeze. Clever animals, as we push our way through the humid air… The light on the raccoon and tree trunk were very harsh. A few adjustments in Lightroom to the exposure, highlights, contrast and shadows corrected this.
I usually see downy woodpeckers on the vertical as they work their way up and down tree trunks searching for insects. So it was nice to see the first bird in a landing pattern on the tree branch if only for a minute. It was windy that day and it had ruffled his head feathers. I came upon the second bird as he was feeding on Staghorn Sumac something I’ve only seen in the fall. Most of the year they seem to prefer an insect diet.
These photos were taken within a few days of each other. The brown hues of late fall turned to a white snowscape very quickly this month. These eastern grey squirrels are sporting thick coats and look alert and well fed as they make their rounds of the park. At times you get the sense that you’re being watched as you walk along the trail. Chances are it’s one of these squirrels, as they’re everywhere you look.
We had a wonderful fall, not too cold, not too windy. The leaves remained on the trees for a good long time making for wonderful reflections on the lake. I took the first photo as the mallards swam towards shore; the colour of the water and the patterns they created are as much a part of the photo as the ducks. The second photo taken on a dull day a few days earlier is all about the duck!
The owl was perched in a tree just off the main pathway when someone pointed it out to us. We had walked by minutes before and hadn’t seen it. We took our share of photographs, the owl was quiet and watchful but in no hurry to fly off. The light was tricky that morning, so I made some exposure, contrast and highlight adjustments in Lightroom.
This is not the first time a stranger in the park has shared what he had seen with us. You often meet the nicest people in the most unexpected places.
These yellow-rumped warbler photographs were taken in April during the spring migration. It can be a little easier to capture them when the trees are just budding than in the fall when the leaves provide them with cover. (Spring takes its time arriving here.) As with all warblers, they’re lightening fast and can take off before you raise your camera to your eye. It’s always a good day when you catch a few of these warblers on the fly!
Spreadwings’ larger size distinguishes them from other damselflies; they aren’t as common either and seem to have a shorter lifecycle. While the smaller damselflies begin to appear in May, the spreadwings appear later in the season. I took the first photograph in mid summer, the second in September as the landscape began to take on a a fall feel. As with most things, we tend to prize the less common, but in this case I believe it’s because time is limited for capturing these lovely insects.
Last year the ice began to form on the lake in November. The mallards were pretty firm footed although the duck in the first photo is looking as though she can’t believe what hit her. The angle of the sun and the reflection off the ice made for some tricky lighting on the ducks. Radial filters in Lightroom balanced the exposure quite nicely.
This little fly made me think of “Droopy”, the classic cartoon character created by Tex Avery. He was an endearing character that the hover fly reminds me of. The insect is tiny and the leaf it’s resting on gives an idea of scale. The photo was taken with my 105mm lens and flash but I should have moved closer to the fly to get even more detail. I liked the composition though and I believe this photo is as much about the flower as the insect. Next year once spring arrives, I am determined to get closer to my winged subjects as often you only get one chance at a shot.
I love these conspicuous birds. Cardinals are hard to miss and now that the trees are bare and there’s little snow cover to brighten things up, they add some colour to a flat, dull landscape. They are one of the few birds that don’t migrate so I hope to see more of them as winter progresses. A nice reward for tramping through the woods at -10 Celsius!
With the cold weather here the reserve is pretty quiet but the mallards are a constant presence and quite a few pairs remain throughout the winter months. These two photos were taken earlier in the fall. The lake now has a sheen of ice on it but even when it freezes solid a thin stretch by the shore remains open; luckily for the ducks and other animals who inhabit the forest year round. You often hear the the ducks before you see them these days, a cheering sound that slices through the cold December air.
The photograph above was taken in March of this year, we had a late spring and the squirrel stands out against the wintery backdrop. The other two photographs were taken in early October before the vegetation had taken on its fall appearance. We’ve had some cold weather the last few days so I haven’t been keen on heading out with my camera. As we’re supposed to get some sun in the next day or two, I’ll get myself fitted up and check on these little guys and see what else is going on in the woods.
This butterfly is another example of how something common is still quite appealing. It might not have the brilliant display of other butterflies but it has a delicate beauty that makes it stand out. It’s widespread in our area and I’ve seen it as early as May and well into August. It’s a good insect to photograph because it tends to perch a little longer than others, giving plenty of opportunity to take your shots. They’re also a nice addition to any flower!
We were coming to the end of our walk when I spotted this peregrine falcon perched on a log in the water. It’s a lucky spot as over the years a number of animals have stopped by it, from frogs and turtles to mink and birds. But that day the log belonged to this peregrine beauty. He stood there, walked around a bit and cooled off in the lake. I fired off as many shots as I could in the 15 minutes he stayed put. I have seen these birds flying overhead, or up in the tree canopy but never this close up. Have to say it was a bit of a thrill.
These photos were taken late in the summer when the bees were really stepping up production. They were everywhere you looked and though I had set out to take some bird photographs, I tend to try for whatever is at hand. The light was perfect that morning, and when I saw the bee against the flower. I took some shots. Taken with my 300mm lens and teleconverter, a bit of a challenge at such close range. I was able to get more insect photos well into September because the early fall was nice and mild.
There’s something about frogs I can’t help but like. There were a lot of them at our lake this year and by mid summer they didn’t startle too easily. A subject that stays put is always appreciated by this photographer. Frogs look composed and patient even when hunting for food. Their expression doesn’t change, they always seem to wear an enigmatic grin. I guess I like them warts and all!
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 